Path 2

Path 2

The Most Shocking New York Yankees Loss, Ever

April 29, 2010

Some things are simply unforeseeable. After all, who would’ve thought that the New York Yankees — the highest-paid team in baseball, the team that won the World Series just six months ago — would sustain what some could only perceive as the most shocking defeat in the history of the franchise at the beginning of the following season?

Yes, it’s true.

The New York Yankees are not the most despised team in baseball, according to the Wall Street Journal. Shocker: That would be the Cleveland Indians. Non-shocker: Followed by (of course) the Boston Red Sox. At the Journal, David Biderman’s shock is registered:

Contrary to popular belief, the Yankees are only the fifth-most despised team in the majors, according to an Internet algorithm built by Nielsen Co. that analyzes how people feel about certain things. This service typically uses various keywords to find out whether people have positive, negative or neutral reactions to different brands and products.

This isn’t just a shock because the Yankees have cultivated a fine reputation for being universally reviled by other teams’ fans for having more money, resources, championships, high-performing steroid-abusing superstars, and world-renowned multi-platinum rappers to perform for them at the World Series, but because as a Yankees fan, even I hate them sometimes, especially now, especially for letting Hideki Matsui go to the Angels after being named the World Series MVP. Yes, it’s common: Even Yankees fans hate the Yankees. We gave Carl Pavano, like, a $40M contract! What the hell is there to hate about the Cleveland Indians? They’re one of the most inoffensive teams in baseball. In more reassuring news, however, the study’s designation of the Boston Red Sox as the second-most hated team in baseball validates their reputation as the team and fans so obnoxious you can only hate them so much before even hating them gets hateable. They can’t even win at that. That said, give ’em 86 years, I’m sure they’ll come out on top once, eventually.